Air Nigeria will commence daily flight operations from Lagos to London on Monday, May 16, says the Chairman of the airline, Dr Jimoh Ibrahim, on Saturday.
Ibrahim told media executives and editors in Lagos that the company had also finalised arrangements to fly from Lagos to Johannesburg, South Africa, with effect from Tuesday, May 17.
As part of the company’s 2012/2013 projects, he said that the company would start flight operations to both Rome and Paris by the middle of June.
Ibrahim, who is also the Chief Executive Officer and Group Executive Chairman, Energy Group, said that the company now has 13 aircrafts.
He said that the aircrafts would be used for both international and domestic operations, adding that the airline ``is financially not indebted to any financial institution''.’
The chairman said that the airline's operations would be decentralised from May.
``Air Nigeria is safe and in nearly 10 years of flying, it has not recorded any accident,’’ Ibrahim noted.
Ibrahim said that the revenue of the airline grew by 56 per cent just as the number of passengers rose by 68 per cent both in 2011 compared to its performance in 2009 whose figures were not provided.
According to him, the airline has consolidated its market position as well as expanding in Nigeria, West and Central Africa.
He further said that the company had entered into strategic partnership and alliance with Delta Airlines and signed other interline agreements.
The businessman explained that for airlines to survive, they must go international, adding that one international flight to London could generate more than what an airline would realise doing 10 domestic flights.
He blamed most airlines' problems on poor management and inadequate advertisement and the increase in the price of aviation fuel from N45 to N160 to bad management.
On the air fare controversy involving British Airways, Ibrahim said that the issue had to do with the exchange rate and the strength of the naira.
He advised that the government should firm up the naira to solve the problem of disparity in international air fares.
Air Nigeria was acquired by NICON Group in April 2010, with a new Board of Directors chaired by Ibrahim.
Source:businessdayonline
0 comments:
Post a Comment